Method and means for preventing accidents with rolling mills



June 2, 1925.

- J. H. HUNTER METHOD AND mus Foa PREVENTINQ Ac cwENTs WITH RQLLINGMILLS Filed March 5, 1925 am mw /vL-q #ZM V Slimme@ Patented June 2, 1925.

rosriin'` sonreir, ory parecia.. ivrrcnIGnN.

ivrntrnonl Anni/Enns :non Pianvnn'rrne ACCIDENTS WITH ROLLING ivrILLs.

Application! filled March 5, 19223. Seiia11No.623`,064.

To all whom t mayfconcem:

citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Detroit, ini the` county of liliaynejy and' State of. Michigan, liaveinv'ented certain new and usefuilf. Improvements' in Methods and-Means for Preventing Accidents? with Rolling Mlill's, of which the fol:- lowing is a specification, reference being had; therein to the accompanying drawings,

The: invention relates toi safety devices for use in connection with rolling mills, Vand has for. its piiimary objects:l the securing of instantaneous release in case a workman is caught in the mill. In the present state of the art various safety appliances have been used in connection with such machinery, in practically all of which there is provided some means for throwing o the power or stopping the machine in case of an accident. Inasinuch, however, as these machines are large in mass, there is a very considerable inertia factor, so that even where the power is instantaneously cut off, there will be considerable movement due to inert-ia. Thus, in case a workman should catch his hand in the rolls before rotation can be stopped, he will be badly injured.

My improvement is based on the principle that the'drawing of anything between the rolls of the mill is due tov friction. Therefore, if some means is instantaneously provided for eliminating friction, injury will be avoided. For example, with a rubber mill the material introduced is of an ad- Vliesive nature and if the workman is once caught7 it is almost impossible for him to overcome this adhesion. However, if he were to first coat his hand with some good lubricant, there would be little danger of being caught and drawn between rolls. Therefore, broadly considered, my invention consists in the application of a lubricant so as to instantaneously release a inember, which might otherwise be drawn into the rolls. The invention further con-sists in a means for storing lubricant in proximity to the rolls and in the mechanism for instantaneously applying such lubricant in case of necessity. l

My invention is applicable to various constructions of rolling mills and other machines in which material is drawn in by friction, but I shall illustrate onlydiagrainmatically one forni, such as a rubber rolling mill. i l

In: the drawings:

l Figure 1 isi adiagrammatic end elevation of suoli a machine. with my safety device applied: thereto;

1Figure-2is aside eleva-tionV of a portion-v of Figure lig: i. e

Figure 3 is a: section through armodifiedk construction.

v'A and A represent two` rollsfniounted on a suitable frame.' B and wlriclli revolve'A ifnolppos-ite directions so as to kdraw thel mate'- ria'l into the throat G betweenl said rolls. Suitably located above the rolls isa, receptacle D forrholding a large quantity of some lubricating material. This may be either solid, liquid, or any form of substance, which when applied to a surface will break ad` hesion between the same and the material which is fed ,to the rolls. For instance, a heavy oil would be suitable for suoli purpose, and, if desired, there may be combined with this material some antiseptic or medicinal material whichy will `protect a wound from infection.

As specifically shown, the receptacle D is vpivotally mounted at E upon a fra-me F rising from the frame B and is further supported by one or more catches G so that by releasing such catches the contents of the receptacle will be instantaneously dumped..

A hinged cover H may be arranged to protect the contents from dust and dirt without in any way preventing the discharge. For releasing the catches I have shown a frame including bars I extending longitudinallyv on each side of the machine and connected to pivoted levers or rockers J. Chains K are attached to these rockers and extend between the guide shives L to an actuating arm M for releasing the catches. The arrangement is Such that by pressing upon either of the bars I andat any point in the length of the machine, the catches G will be released and the contents of the receptacle D emptied. Also, the location of this receptacle is such that in dumping the contents anything therebeneath will be comf' pletely covered with the lubricant.

l/Vhile I havedescribed this one specific construction, it is evident that it is only one of many ways in which the lubricant might be instantaneously applied, and it is also evident that without any apparatus injury might-be prevented by first applying a lubricating coating to the hands of the workman. Still another modification of my invention is in the form of a glove or mitten, such as O (Fig. 3) which is either made two ply with lubricating material between plies, or is lined with the material of a lubricating nature which will prevent adhesion to the hand. i

lVith all the various modifications the same basic principle is involved, viz, the

breaking of adhesion so as to permit the operator to disengage himself from the rolls or the material being 'fed thereto.

f What I claim as my invention is:

l. The method of guarding against acci' dents with rollinginills or like class of machines, which consists in the application of a lubricant to the surface of the member which is guarded.

2. yThe method of guarding against Vaccidents with rolling mills and like machines,

which consists in quickly applyinglubr'icant to the surface of a member caught by the machine.

-the surface of a rmember caught in the machine. u

4c. A safe-ty device for rolling mills or the like, comprisingA areceptacle vfor lubricant arranged in proximity to the machine, and

l means for instantaneously dumping said receptacle to coat with saidlubricant the surface of a member caught in themachine.`

5; A safety device orrolliiig mills and the like, comprising means for storing lubri-r cant in proximity to the machine, and moans for discharging said lubricant to Y coat the surface of a member to be guarded from said machine. f

y In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH Hf HUNTER. 

